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Flagler official appeals for prayer in schools, meetings

Published: Friday, February 8, 2013 at 5:10 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, February 8, 2013 at 7:50 p.m.

BUNNELL — A Flagler County School Board member is calling for prayer time in schools as relief from the "hate" in the world.

John Fischer has twice publicly implored his colleagues to have a workshop to discuss the matter, pointing to a recent state law that opens the door for student-led prayer.

"There is no other county in Florida that has even talked about or even done anything about prayer in schools," Fischer said during the Tuesday's meeting. "But maybe we can revitalize (prayer) and be proactive versus reactive."

Fischer did not respond to phone calls seeking further comment, but he spoke at length about the matter during the Jan. 22 and Feb. 5 board meetings. A School Board member since 2010, Fischer said during the Jan. 22 meeting that he's "very proud to be a Catholic."

"I'm not going to be on a soapbox, but I think that we should give some consideration to maybe having prayer in our schools and our meetings," he said.

Other board members didn't react publicly to Fischer's comments, but a law that took effect last July supports the idea. The Florida law allows school boards to establish policies permitting students to deliver an "inspirational message" at assemblies. Students, without input from staff, can decide whether to include a message and choose student volunteers to read the message.

Facing threats of lawsuits from the American Civil Liberties Union, Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association, said he's urged school districts not to adopt the policy and no district has done so. About 150 people attended a workshop in Clay County to discuss the issue, the only district in Florida that's even gone that far.

"We've found that policies that most districts have right now are more than sufficient to handle this issue," Blanton said.

Flagler's policies allow for a two-minute period of silence at the beginning of each school day. Neither Flagler nor Volusia County's policies apparently mention prayer specifically.

The new state law "was poorly thought out," said Rabbi Merrill Shapiro, president of the board of trustees for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "In the end, it's going to send a subtle signal that certain groups that are not associated with mainstream religion or not associated with religion at all are disenfranchised."

Shapiro, who is a rabbi at Temple Shalom in Deltona, said current policies allow for more than adequate opportunities for prayer in schools.

Other School Board members said they worried about the legal consequences of allowing students to pray publicly. School Board member Sue Dickinson said she didn't hear Fischer's appeals about prayer but she's "open to listen to anybody's suggestions about what they want to do."

"It would certainly have to be within our legal boundaries," she said. "I don't think it's a bad idea if it's something we can indeed do."

People should be able to "pray anyplace, anytime" but if students are able to read messages without prior approval from staff, they might say something that "could offend somebody," School Board member Trevor Tucker said.

"I personally am not opposed to prayers but I think this brings up lots of legal issues," he said.

Lawsuits can be costly, as Santa Rosa County learned. School officials there admitted high school administrators had been leading prayers and promoting Christianity in the schools and paid at least $500,000 in attorney fees after the ACLU sued the school district in 2008, according to the Associated Press.

But Fischer pointed to other public venues where people pray, including the presidential inauguration and NASCAR events. Many people already pray about personal troubles, such as illness, job loss or losing their homes, but may not do so publicly because they're "afraid of the political correctness."

"Why can't we bring back the family values and bring the character that we're known for instead of all this hate?" Fischer said during the Jan. 22 meeting. "Even in these chambers, I see people with hate and it's disgusting."

<p>BUNNELL &mdash; A Flagler County School Board member is calling for prayer time in schools as relief from the "hate" in the world. </p><p>John Fischer has twice publicly implored his colleagues to have a workshop to discuss the matter, pointing to a recent state law that opens the door for student-led prayer.</p><p>"There is no other county in Florida that has even talked about or even done anything about prayer in schools," Fischer said during the Tuesday's meeting. "But maybe we can revitalize (prayer) and be proactive versus reactive." </p><p>Fischer did not respond to phone calls seeking further comment, but he spoke at length about the matter during the Jan. 22 and Feb. 5 board meetings. A School Board member since 2010, Fischer said during the Jan. 22 meeting that he's "very proud to be a Catholic." </p><p>"I'm not going to be on a soapbox, but I think that we should give some consideration to maybe having prayer in our schools and our meetings," he said. </p><p>Other board members didn't react publicly to Fischer's comments, but a law that took effect last July supports the idea. The Florida law allows school boards to establish policies permitting students to deliver an "inspirational message" at assemblies. Students, without input from staff, can decide whether to include a message and choose student volunteers to read the message. </p><p>Facing threats of lawsuits from the American Civil Liberties Union, Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association, said he's urged school districts not to adopt the policy and no district has done so. About 150 people attended a workshop in Clay County to discuss the issue, the only district in Florida that's even gone that far. </p><p>"We've found that policies that most districts have right now are more than sufficient to handle this issue," Blanton said. </p><p>Flagler's policies allow for a two-minute period of silence at the beginning of each school day. Neither Flagler nor Volusia County's policies apparently mention prayer specifically. </p><p>The new state law "was poorly thought out," said Rabbi Merrill Shapiro, president of the board of trustees for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "In the end, it's going to send a subtle signal that certain groups that are not associated with mainstream religion or not associated with religion at all are disenfranchised." </p><p>Shapiro, who is a rabbi at Temple Shalom in Deltona, said current policies allow for more than adequate opportunities for prayer in schools.</p><p>Other School Board members said they worried about the legal consequences of allowing students to pray publicly. School Board member Sue Dickinson said she didn't hear Fischer's appeals about prayer but she's "open to listen to anybody's suggestions about what they want to do." </p><p>"It would certainly have to be within our legal boundaries," she said. "I don't think it's a bad idea if it's something we can indeed do."</p><p>People should be able to "pray anyplace, anytime" but if students are able to read messages without prior approval from staff, they might say something that "could offend somebody," School Board member Trevor Tucker said. </p><p>"I personally am not opposed to prayers but I think this brings up lots of legal issues," he said. </p><p>Lawsuits can be costly, as Santa Rosa County learned. School officials there admitted high school administrators had been leading prayers and promoting Christianity in the schools and paid at least $500,000 in attorney fees after the ACLU sued the school district in 2008, according to the Associated Press. </p><p>But Fischer pointed to other public venues where people pray, including the presidential inauguration and NASCAR events. Many people already pray about personal troubles, such as illness, job loss or losing their homes, but may not do so publicly because they're "afraid of the political correctness." </p><p>"Why can't we bring back the family values and bring the character that we're known for instead of all this hate?" Fischer said during the Jan. 22 meeting. "Even in these chambers, I see people with hate and it's disgusting."</p>